FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.  Methodist University men's basketball hosted a non-conference game against Regent University on Wednesday night, and after a tight contest for the majority of the first half, the Monarchs pulled away to claim a double-digit lead over the Royals before they picked up an 86-72 victory.

This was also the first-ever meeting between these two programs.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Methodist def. Regent, 86–72
Records: Methodist 2-2, Regent 1-4
Location: March F. Riddle Center; Fayetteville, North Carolina

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After Derrion Hicklen (2) and Greg Ehlinger (3) registered the opening five points for Methodist, a layup by Antoine Brown sparked a 9-0 Regent run to give the visitors a four-point advantage. A couple of minutes later, the Monarchs put themselves back in front by two, 13-11, with a pair of Hicklen lay-ins and a three-pointer by Tomas Stevens.
• The next eight minutes of game action saw the two sides trading points until the contest was deadlocked at 25 all. Then, Hicklen scored the next five Methodist points, two baskets and a free throw, to give his team a five-point lead. During the last five and a half minutes of the first half, the Monarchs outscored the Royals 17-6 to make the score a 16-point difference heading into the break.
• Methodist began the second half on a 10-3 run, with Ehlinger recording six points, and then buckets by Zac Sledge and Jeremy Mull gave the Monarchs their largest lead of the contest, 64-38, a difference of 26 points. Regent would chip away at the score as the duo of Brown and Darrin Clark combined for 13 points during a 15-6 run to make it a 17-point ballgame, 70-53.
• For most of the contest, the Royals did not shoot well from behind the arc (2-20), but then Clark, Micah Eastman, and DJ Dillon each made a triple to trim the Methodist lead down to 13 points, 81-68, with two and a half minutes left. Stevens responded back for the Monarchs by making his second three of the contest, followed by Chance Minott sealing the game with a pair of made shots at the charity stripe.

MORE TO IT

• It was a career shooting night for Hicklen, who scored 28 points, game-high, on 12 of 15 (.800) shots from the field. His 12 made field goals are also a career-high.
• Just four games into the young season, tonight was by far the best shooting night for Methodist, making 54.8% (34-62) of their shots.
• Besides Hicklen, Ke Edwards and Stevens also reached double figures for the Monarchs with ten each. A. Brown (22), Christian Brown (11), and Brendan Goods (11) were the three Regent players to record 10+ points.

UP NEXT
Methodist will be on the road for its next two games, starting with a trip to the University of Lynchburg on Tuesday, November 26. The opening jump is set for 5 PM.